Motor vehicle opening panel provided with a removable equipment support plate and skin

ABSTRACT

A motor vehicle opening panel including an inner panel, preferably made of plastic material, with an upper part in which a first opening is made to accommodate a rear window, and an outer skin, at least partially made of plastic material, attached to the inner panel, including an inner surface opposite an outer surface of the inner panel. The opening panel further includes a support plate for an equipment item covered by the outer skin, the inner surface of the outer skin being attached directly to the support plate in a sealed manner. The plate is arranged inside an inner volume delimited by the outer surface of the inner panel and by the inner surface of the outer skin. The plate is attached to the inner panel so that the assembly consisting of the plate and the outer skin is mounted on the inner panel in a removable manner.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of motor vehicle bodywork parts, morespecifically opening panels, such as tailgates or side doors, and inparticular the integration of equipment installed there.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For example, a motor vehicle tailgate generally comprises an outer panel(also called outer skin) applied to an inner panel, or frame. The innerpanel is provided with a first opening in the upper part of the tailgateintended to accommodate a rear window. In the lower part of thetailgate, this inner panel is usually provided with small recessesallowing local passage for the attachment of components.

On most vehicles, motor vehicle tailgates incorporate, in the lower partof the tailgate, side rear signaling lights, such as brake lights,generally a left light and a right light located symmetrically on eitherside of the tailgate. Preferably, these two lights are located as muchas possible along the side edges of the tailgate in order, in the closedposition of the tailgate, to face the additional rear light located onthe body of the vehicle. Such lights are currently manufactured bysuppliers in the form of lighting units or optical units. Such opticalunits comprise a rear part, or casing, in which the lighting device isarranged, as well as a window, also called glass, allowing light to passwhen the light is in operation. These two side lights are added andmounted on the tailgate on and by its outer face, which has manydrawbacks.

First of all, it is necessary to provide a sealed glass with respect tothe optical casing in order to protect the lighting device. In addition,an operator should mount the two side lights at two separate locationson the tailgate, connect the electrical harnesses to them, and seal theassembly to prevent runoff water from entering the volume delimited bythe inner panel and the outer skin of the tailgate, passing between thelight and the outer skin, which presents practical difficulties.

Another drawback lies in the fact that the side lights thus added appearas additions and do not exhibit any apparent continuity with the rest ofthe tailgate, which is detrimental to its esthetics. Indeed, a trendamong car manufacturers is to ensure that the various exterior surfacesof the vehicle are flush with each other and appear seamless. In certainconfigurations, lighted elements can even remain partially or totallyinvisible from the outside, for example when they are not activated(“hidden until lit”).

Finally, the added side lights have the disadvantage of not being easilyremovable. In fact, most of the time, the outer skin of the tailgate ispermanently bonded to the inner panel to ensure the seal between thesetwo elements. It therefore becomes necessary, in order to access theside lights, to pass through the interior of the vehicle by means ofopenings made for this purpose in the inner panel. This has severaldrawbacks. Making holes reduces the rigidity of the panel, especiallysince the holes must be large enough to be able to remove the lights andtheir connectors. In addition, they must be able to be closed so as tobe hidden and/or to avoid the insertion of liquid using specific covers,which complicates the design of the tailgate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is in particular to remedy these drawbacksby providing a motor vehicle opening panel that makes it possible tointegrate equipment in its lower part in a sealed manner, and that makesit possible to improve the esthetics of the vehicle, while alsoproviding easy access to this equipment.

To this end, the invention relates to a motor vehicle opening panelcomprising:

-   an inner panel, preferably made of plastic material, provided with    an upper part in which a first opening is made that is intended to    accommodate a rear window, and-   an outer skin, at least partially made of plastic material, applied    to the inner panel, comprising an inner surface located opposite an    outer surface of the inner panel.

The opening panel according to the invention further comprises a supportplate for at least one equipment item covered by the outer skin, theinner surface of the outer skin being applied directly to the supportplate in a sealed manner, said plate being arranged inside a volumedelimited, on the one hand, by the outer surface of an inner panel and,on the other hand, by the inner surface of the outer skin, said platebeing fastened to the inner panel so that the assembly consisting of theplate and the outer skin can be removably detached from the inner panel.

“Outer surface of the inner panel” refers to the surface facing theoutside of the vehicle. The outer surface is opposed to the innersurface, which itself faces toward the passenger compartment.

A first element is understood to be “applied to” a second element whenthe first element is arranged facing the second element, covering it atleast in part, whether it is fastened thereto or not.

A first element is understood to be “applied directly to” a secondelement when the first element is applied to the second element and anyfastening means that link the two elements are arranged directly onthese two elements, without an intermediate structural part such asanother panel, for example. In addition, according to this definition, afirst element is directly applied to a second element, including iffastening means (screw, washer, glue, etc.), sealing means (seal, foam,etc.), decorative means (film, paint, etc.) and/or insulation means(foam, etc.) are placed between the first element and the secondelement.

Owing to the presence of an equipment support plate covered by the outerskin and arranged inside a volume delimited, on the one hand, by theouter surface of an inner panel and, on the other hand, by the innersurface of the outer skin, it is possible to have lighting,communication or driving assistance devices carried via the equipmentsupport plate rather than applying them to the outer face of the outerskin of the opening panel. This facilitates their implementation withinthe opening panel in the desired position for each equipment item, sincethey are assembled beforehand on the plate on which the outer skin isapplied.

Thus, the esthetics of the vehicle are improved, since the equipmentdoes not appear as additions and does not have any apparentdiscontinuity with the rest of the opening panel.

In addition, it is also possible to ensure that the equipment carried bythe support plate is concealed by the outer skin, including, in the caseof a tailgate, the rear lights, for example when they are not lit.“Concealed by the outer skin” means that the equipment is not obviouslyvisible to a user.

In addition, the fact that the outer skin is applied directly and in asealed manner to the equipment support plate makes it possible to createa specific “dry zone” for the equipment carried by the support plate.The term “dry zone” is understood here to mean a closed volume, sealedwith respect to the outside environment. Thus, all the equipment carriedby the support plate is sealed off from the outside environment via thesealed connection obtained between the support plate and the outer skin.This is much easier than sealing around each equipment item individuallyor sealing each equipment item, such as with lighting units. Thisultimately preserves this equipment and therefore ensures its properfunctioning.

Finally, the fact that the plate is fastened to the inner panel so thatthe assembly consisting of the plate and the outer skin is removablyfastened to the inner panel makes it particularly easy to repair and/orreplace the equipment carried by the plate. In fact, one need onlydetach the assembly consisting of the plate and the skin from the restof the tailgate and separate the plate from the skin to access theequipment and all its connections.

Advantageously, in order to easily access the equipment carried by thesupport plate, the assembly consisting of the plate and the outer skinis configured so as to be able to be detached from the inner panel andthen to be moved away from it toward the outside of the vehicle. It isin fact no longer necessary to remove the equipment from the vehiclethrough the inner panel from inside the vehicle, which greatlyfacilitates its maintenance, its replacement and, in general,after-sales service.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the equipmentsupport plate is applied directly to the outer surface of the innerpanel in a removable manner, for example by screwing. This makes iteasier to disassemble the support plate, since there is no intermediatepart to disassemble between the inner panel and the support plate.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the equipmentsupport plate comprises a niche whose walls delimit a volume in whichsaid at least one equipment item is inserted and a peripheral rimextending the walls of the niche, the peripheral rim being removablyfastened to the outer surface of the inner panel. The volume delimitedby the niche can thus form a “dry zone” for the equipment items.

In order to ensure a seal in the volume delimited by the niche of thesupport plate and therefore to protect the equipment that is located inthis volume, a seal is placed between the support plate and the innersurface of the outer skin.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the outer skin isapplied to the support plate by gluing.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the outer skin isapplied to the support plate removably, for example by screwing.

Preferably, the equipment support plate comprises a device emittingand/or receiving electromagnetic radiation and the outer skin comprises,opposite the device emitting and/or receiving electromagnetic radiation,a transmission zone, made of plastic, that is at least partiallytransparent to said electromagnetic radiation.

It is thus possible to take advantage of the support plate to arrangeradiation-emitting devices in order to establish, for example, acontinuous light signature over the entire width of the tailgate if sodesired, or even to integrate driving assistance devices, such as radars(which generally emit electromagnetic radiation between 20 and 80 GHz),lidars (which generally emit electromagnetic radiation belonging to theinfrared spectrum) or reversing cameras. Finally, it can also becommunication equipment, such as screens or antennas. In general, thisequipment can be any device requiring wave transparency.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, theelectromagnetic radiation belongs to the visible spectrum.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the electromagneticradiation belongs to the non-visible spectrum.

In order to easily access the equipment carried by the support platewithout having to detach the outer skin from the support plate, thesupport plate comprises at least one access orifice to one of theequipment items carried by the support plate, and preferably at leastone closure member for closing said access orifice.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the support plateis in one piece.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the support plate ismade in several parts assembled together.

Preferably, in order in particular to be able to ensure transparency ofthe skin to various electromagnetic radiation as required, the outerskin is made of one of the following materials:

-   polypropylene (PP);-   polyamide (PA);-   polyethylene (PE);-   acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS);-   polyethylene terephthalate (PET);-   polystyrene (PS);-   polycarbonate (PC);-   polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA);-   cyclo-olefin copolymer (COC);    as well as any combination of these materials.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the opening panelconstitutes a tailgate or a side door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be better understood on reading the description thatfollows, in which the opening panel of the invention has been describedin the form of a tailgate, which description is given solely by way ofexample and with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic views (FIG. 1A exploded and 1B assembled)of an equipment support plate and an outer skin of a tailgate accordingto one embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a tailgate according to a firstembodiment of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the tailgate of FIG. 2 ,

FIG. 4 is a schematic section taken along section plane IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a schematic section of the equipment plate and the equipmentitem of FIG. 4 , the equipment item having been extracted from theequipment plate,

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of a tailgate according to a secondembodiment of the invention,

FIG. 7 is a schematic section of the equipment plate and the equipmentitem of

FIG. 6 , the skin having been detached from the equipment plate,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A to 4 show a motor vehicle tailgate 1 according to a firstembodiment of the invention. The motor vehicle is not shown in thefigures.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 2 , the tailgate 1 comprises aninner panel 2, preferably made of plastic material, provided with anupper part 2A in which a first opening 21 is made that is intended toaccommodate a rear window 7. The rear window 7 is in particular fastenedto the inner panel 2 via a bead of glue 8.

The tailgate 1 also comprises an outer skin 3, at least partially madeof plastic material, placed against the inner panel 2, comprising aninner surface 31 located opposite an outer surface 23 of the inner panel2. “Outer surface 23 of the inner panel” means the surface facing theoutside of the vehicle. The outer surface 23 is opposite an innersurface 24 of the outer panel, which itself faces the passengercompartment.

As can be seen in FIG. 4 , the tailgate 1 further comprises a supportplate 4 for at least one equipment item 6. The inner surface 31 of theouter skin 3 is applied directly to an outer surface of the supportplate 4 in a sealed manner.

The support plate 4 is more particularly arranged inside an inner volume5A delimited, on the one hand, by the outer surface 23 of the innerpanel 2 and, on the other hand, by the inner surface 31 of the outerskin 3.

The support plate 4 is applied directly to the inner panel 2 so that theassembly consisting of the support plate 4 and the outer skin 3 ismounted removably on the inner panel 2, and in particular so that it canbe detached and then moved away from the inner panel 2 toward theoutside (in the left-to-right direction of FIGS. 4 to 7 ) of thevehicle, as will be explained later.

More specifically, in the example shown in the figures, the supportplate 4 here is applied directly, via its inner surface, to the outersurface 23 of the inner panel 2.

The support plate 4 comprises a niche N whose walls delimit a volume 5Bin which said at least one equipment item 6 is housed, as well as aperipheral rim 51 extending the walls of the niche N.

The sealing of the volume 5B is ensured by means of a peripheral seal 50arranged between the support plate 4 and the inner surface 31 of theouter skin 3.

The peripheral rim 51 is removably attached to the outer surface 23 ofthe inner panel 2. To this end, as can be seen in FIG. 4 , it is inparticular assembled to the outer surface 23 of the inner panel usingscrews 25. The screws 25 are inserted into the support plate 4 and theinner panel 2 so that their heads can be accessed, and thereforeunscrewed, from inside the vehicle via the inner surface 24 (passengercompartment side).

It will be noted that the screws 25 allowing the removable assembly ofthe support plate 4 to the outer surface 23 of the inner panel 2 couldbe arranged in places other than the peripheral rim 51. In particular,in a variant that is not shown, the fastening of the support plate 4 tothe outer surface 23 of the inner panel 2 can be carried out proximateone of the walls of the niche N, outside the rim 51.

It is of course possible to envisage fastening means other than screws,such as clips, for example, as long as they allow removal of the supportplate 4 from the inner panel 2 in a removable manner. The term“removable” means a fastening means that can be reversed several timeswithout altering the parts, unlike gluing, for example.

A seal (not visible in the figures) can also be placed between theperipheral rim 51 and the outer surface 23 of the inner panel. It may befor example a foam seal compressed between the peripheral rim 51 and theouter surface 23 of the inner panel. Alternatively, the seal will becompressed between another part of the support plate 4 facing the outersurface 23 of the inner panel and the outer surface 23 of the innerpanel.

The outer skin 3 is applied, preferably directly, to the support plate4. In this first embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 ,the outer skin 3 is glued (the glue is not visible in the figures), viaits inner surface 31, to the support plate 4.

However, the outer skin 3 is not necessarily fastened to the inner panel3: it may only be connected to the latter via the support plate 4, asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . Nevertheless, the outer skin 3 here is appliedagainst the outer surface 23 of the inner panel 2 while being in contactwith the latter, but without being fastened thereto. In particular, itmay be applied against the outer surface 23 of the inner panel 2 in asealed manner, for example using a seal placed between the inner surface31 of the outer skin 3 and the outer surface 23 of the inner panel 2(the seal is not visible in the figures). Whether or not the outer skin3 is fastened to the inner panel 2, it is preferably, in all cases,applied (there may or may not be contact) against the outer surface 23of the inner panel 2.

Since the support plate 4 is attached in a removable manner to the innerpanel 2 owing to reversible fastening means such as screws, it ispossible to detach and remove the assembly consisting of the supportplate 4 and the outer skin 3 of the inner panel 2, in particular fromthe inside to the outside of the vehicle, which is removed in FIG. 5 .In the embodiment shown in the figures, to detach the support plate 4from the inner panel 2, the screws 25 (or any other means for fasteningthe support plate 4 to the inner panel 2) are unscrewed from inside thevehicle (passenger compartment side). Then, one can remove the assemblyconsisting of the support plate 4 and the outer skin 3 of the innerpanel 2 from outside the vehicle and separate this assembly from therest of the vehicle. FIG. 5 illustrates the assembly separated from therest of the vehicle.

The support plate 4 comprises one or more equipment items 6, only one ofwhich is visible in the illustrated sections 4 to 8. Of course, thesecan be different from each other. It may, for example, be one or morelight devices that emit electromagnetic radiation R in the visiblespectrum. This electromagnetic radiation is shown schematically by adotted arrow in FIGS. 4 and 6 . These light devices can be distributedover all or part of the width of the support plate 4 in order toestablish the desired light signature. Thus, it is possible to obtain alight signature with a continuous appearance over the entire width ofthe tailgate if so desired.

The equipment item(s) 6 can also be driving assistance devices, such asfor example radars (which generally emit electromagnetic radiationbetween 20 and 80 GHz), lidars (which generally emit electromagneticradiation belonging to the infrared spectrum) or reversing cameras.Finally, it can also be communication equipment, such as informationscreens or antennas. In general, the equipment item(s) 6 can be anydevice requiring wave transparency.

The zone of the outer skin 3 located opposite the equipment item 6 is atransmission zone 32 made of plastic material at least partiallytransparent to the electromagnetic radiation of the equipment, in thecase where the latter emits and/or receives electromagnetic radiation.“At least transparent to electromagnetic radiation” means that thistransmission zone 32 allows the passage of a quantity of electromagneticwaves sufficient for the equipment to be able to fulfill its dedicatedfunction correctly and continuously. In the case of a light device, forexample, this means that the transmission zone 32 allows the light raysemitted by the device to pass so that they can be seen by an observeroutside the vehicle.

The outer skin 3 is preferably made of one of the following materials:

-   polypropylene (PP);-   polyamide (PA);-   polyethylene (PE);-   acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS);-   polyethylene terephthalate (PET);-   polystyrene (PS);-   polycarbonate (PC);-   polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA);-   cyclo-olefin copolymer (COC);    as well as any combination of these materials.

The support plate 4 can be in one piece, which simplifies itsmanufacture and avoids the steps of assembling several elements on theouter skin 3. Alternatively, the support plate 4 can be made of severalparts assembled together either before being introduced into the innervolume 5A, or after having been introduced into the inner volume 5A.

In the first embodiment according to the invention, and as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5 , the support plate 4 is provided with an access orifice42 that allows access to the equipment item 6 carried by the plate 4,for example with a view to its installation or maintenance. Inparticular, the access orifice 42 is made in the bottom of the niche N,which allows the most direct access to the equipment item 6.

It is thus possible to guarantee access to the inner volume 5A once thesupport plate 4 has been detached and removed from the inner panel 2 asshown in FIG. 5 .

Of course, several access orifices 42 distributed in the support plate 4can be provided, in order to be able to easily access all the equipmentitems 6 carried by the support plate 4.

The access orifice 42 is preferably closed via a closure member 43 orcover that thus makes it possible to create an additional inner volume5B that is closed, and more preferably mounted in a sealed manner, onthe bottom of the niche N, within the same main inner volume 5A, as canbe seen in FIG. 4 . Thus, the equipment item(s) 6 carried by the supportplate 4 are located within a dry and sealed zone that protects them.

It will be noted that in a variant of the invention, not shown, thefastening of the support plate 4 to the outer surface 23 of the innerpanel 2 can be carried out at the bottom of the niche in which theaccess orifice 42 is made. Thus, the screws 25 could be carried by thebottom of the niche N in which the access orifice 42 is made.

Furthermore, in the examples shown in the figures, the equipment item 6is carried by the closing member 43, which has the advantage of beingable to remove the equipment item 6 from the volume 5B at the same timeas the closure member 43. However, this is only an example and theequipment item(s) 6 can be carried by any other wall of the niche N inparticular. In this case, the closure member 43 only makes it possibleto fill the opening 42 giving access to the equipment item 6, and itsremoval makes it possible to provide access to the equipment item 6,which can be removed from the volume 5B after the closure member 43 hasbeen removed from the rest of the support plate 4. Alternatively,depending on the needs, the equipment item 6 does not have to be removedfrom the niche 5B to be able to benefit from maintenance, the operatorbeing able to intervene through the access orifice 42.

In a second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 ,the outer skin 3 is no longer glued to the support plate 4, but isapplied thereto in a removable manner, for example by screwing usingscrews 35 (only one is shown in FIG. 6 ). It is thus possible to detachthe outer skin of the support plate 4, as can be seen in FIG. 5 , andthus to have access to the niche N and to the equipment item 6.Naturally, fastening means other than screws, such as clips, can beprovided, as long as they allow removable and preferably reversibleremoval.

Also in this embodiment, to seal the volume 5B, a seal 50 may beprovided between the outer skin 3 and the support plate 4. It may inparticular be a foam seal compressed between the peripheral rim 51 (oranother zone of the support plate 4 opposite the inner surface 31 of theouter skin) and the inner surface 31 of the outer skin 3. The seal 50may in particular be carried by the support plate 4 once the outer skin3 has been detached therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 7 . Alternatively,the seal 50 may be carried by the outer skin 3.

In this second embodiment, since the outer skin 3 is removably mountedon the support plate 4, it is no longer necessary to make an accessorifice 42 to the equipment item 6 in the plate, as can be seen in FIGS.6 and 7 . Nevertheless, it can still be provided in a variant not shown.

In an embodiment that is not shown, optionally, the outer skin 3 couldbe removably fixed, for example by screwing, to the inner panel 2.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described here, andother embodiments will become clearly apparent to a person skilled inthe art. It is possible in particular to envisage any combination of theembodiments presented.

LIST OF REFERENCES

-   1: tailgate-   2: inner panel-   2A: upper part of the inner panel-   2B: lower part of the inner panel-   3: outer skin-   4: equipment support plate-   5A: inner volume of the opening panel-   5B: inner volume of the plate-   6: equipment item of the plate-   7: rear window-   8: bead of glue of the rear window-   23: outer surface of the inner panel-   24: inner surface of the inner panel-   25: screws between the support plate and the inner panel-   31: inner surface of outer skin-   32: transmission zone-   35: screws between the support plate and the outer skin-   42: plate access orifice-   43: closure member-   50: seal-   51: rim of the plate-   N: niche of the support plate-   R: electromagnetic radiation

1. A motor vehicle opening panel, comprising: an inner panel, made ofplastic material, provided with an upper part in which a first openingis made that is intended to accommodate a rear window, and an outerskin, at least partially made of plastic material, attached to the innerpanel, comprising an inner surface located opposite an outer surface ofthe inner panel, characterized in that it further comprises a supportplate for at least one equipment item covered by the outer skin, theinner surface of the outer skin being attached directly to the supportplate in a sealed manner, said plate being arranged inside a volumedelimited, on the one hand, by the outer surface of the inner panel and,on the other hand, by the inner surface of the outer skin, said platebeing applied on and fastened to the inner panel so that an assemblyconsisting of the plate and the outer skin can be removably detachedfrom the inner panel.
 2. The motor vehicle opening panel according toclaim 1, wherein the assembly consisting of the plate and the outer skinis configured so as to be able to be detached from the inner panel andthen to be moved away from it toward an outside of the vehicle.
 3. Themotor vehicle opening panel according to claim 1, wherein the equipmentsupport plate is applied directly to the outer surface of the innerpanel in a removable manner.
 4. The motor vehicle opening panelaccording to claim 3, wherein the equipment support plate is screwed tothe outer surface of the inner panel.
 5. The motor vehicle opening panelaccording to claim 3, wherein the equipment support plate comprises aniche whose walls delimit a volume in which said at least one equipmentitem is inserted and a peripheral rim extending the walls of the niche,the peripheral rim being removably fastened to the outer surface of theinner panel.
 6. The motor vehicle opening panel according to claim 5,wherein a seal is placed between the support plate and the inner surfaceof the outer skin.
 7. The motor vehicle opening panel according to claim1, wherein the outer skin is applied to the support plate by gluing. 8.The motor vehicle opening panel according to claim 1, wherein the outerskin is applied to the support plate removably.
 9. The motor vehicleopening panel according to claim 8, wherein the outer skin is screwed tothe support plate.
 10. The motor vehicle opening panel according toclaim 1, wherein the equipment support plate comprises a device emittingand/or receiving electromagnetic radiation and the outer skin comprises,opposite the device emitting and/or receiving electromagnetic radiation,a transmission zone, made of plastic, that is at least partiallytransparent to said electromagnetic radiation.
 11. The motor vehicleopening panel according to claim 1, wherein the support plate comprisesat least one access orifice to one of the equipment items carried by thesupport plate.
 12. The motor vehicle opening panel according to claim11, wherein the support plate further comprises at least one closuremember of said access orifice.